Old TV and Bluetooth Headphones

[dank69]

I have an older Samsung HDTV, circa 2012. I also have a pair of Bluetooth headphones with a USB dongle. I bought the headphones hoping I could just put the dongle in one of the TV's USB ports, but that didn't work. TV audio out settings are only "TV Speakers" and "External Speakers"

Does anyone have a clever trick to get the output through to the headphones?

 

[mindless1]

Do the headphones have a volume control on them? I'd imagine the USB dongle is only connected to the battery charge circuit +/- contacts, unless they got fancy and hooked the data pins up to allow firmware updates or something. Regardless the TV wouldn't have built in driver support.

If the TV can't change the volume level of the "External Speakers" then you'd be stuck with what is probably going to end up as a fairly loud, line level signal getting to the headphones. On my about-that-age Samsung TV (6030 series), the manual states that external speakers don't have volume or mute control through the TV.

Besides that volume issue, you might be able to do it with an analog (or SPDIF digital) to bluetooth transmitter. Some of those may have a remote control (or just knob) for volume control if the headphones themselves don't.

Amazon.com : Bluetooth Transmitter headphones

I am merely assuming that your TV's external speakers are only supported by analog outputs (RCA jacks?), but if the TV has bluetooth then you might need nothing added. It might support SPDIF digital output.

 

[dank69]

Do the headphones have a volume control on them? I'd imagine the USB dongle is only connected to the battery charge circuit +/- contacts, unless they got fancy and hooked the data pins up to allow firmware updates or something. Regardless the TV wouldn't have built in driver support.

If the TV can't change the volume level of the "External Speakers" then you'd be stuck with what is probably going to end up as a fairly loud, line level signal getting to the headphones. On my about-that-age Samsung TV (6030 series), the manual states that external speakers don't have volume or mute control through the TV.

Besides that volume issue, you might be able to do it with an analog (or SPDIF digital) to bluetooth transmitter. Some of those may have a remote control (or just knob) for volume control if the headphones themselves don't.

Amazon.com : Bluetooth Transmitter headphones

I am merely assuming that your TV's external speakers are only supported by analog outputs (RCA jacks?), but if the TV has bluetooth then you might need nothing added. It might support SPDIF digital output.

The headphones have volume controls. TV is UN46C6300SF.

These are the outputs it has:

 

[mindless1]

Okay so looks like a Toslink optical and a 3.5mm aka 1/8" stereo analog jack.

The bluetooth transmitters with only the analog input are cheaper, usually, then if it doesn't have a 1/8" stereo plug but instead RCA sockets, then you'd get a 1/8" to 2x RCA patch cord. Some transmitters may come with one.

Spend more and you get the optical Toslink input to the transmitter and possibly can do both that and analog input.

I don't know which transmitters are best, or cheapest. I didn't even realize there were so many of them these days, pages and pages on amazon and ebay by searching toslink bluetooth transmitter. You just need the toslink input and/or analog and possibly adapter cable, and at least as high a bluetooth standard as the headphones support would be good too.

 

[dank69]

Okay so looks like a Toslink optical and a 3.5mm aka 1/8" stereo analog jack.

The bluetooth transmitters with only the analog input are cheaper, usually, then if it doesn't have a 1/8" stereo plug but instead RCA sockets, then you'd get a 1/8" to 2x RCA patch cord. Some transmitters may come with one.

Spend more and you get the optical Toslink input to the transmitter and possibly can do both that and analog input.

I don't know which transmitters are best, or cheapest. I didn't even realize there were so many of them these days, pages and pages on amazon and ebay by searching toslink bluetooth transmitter. You just need the toslink input and/or analog and possibly adapter cable, and at least as high a bluetooth standard as the headphones support would be good too.

So like this guy?

https://www.amazon.com/TROND-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Simultaneously/dp/B01N9PI9T6/ref=mp_s_a_1_3

 

[mindless1]

That should work, though there may be some out there cheaper than $40.

 

[BoomerD]

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